Exploring Costa Rica

1. First ride: Alejuelita y San Josecito

We received our pallet of goods the prior Monday, so after breakfast with Opal we went for a little ride through Parque Sabana, after which she headed home and I embarked on a longer ride.

Heading south from the park, I rode toward Escazu on 177 and then hung a left on Calle Herrera toward Alejuelita. There was a lot of up-and-down. The neighborhoods were unremarkable barrios de la ciudad; not much to say about them. To my right the terrain went up, and when I got to 105 I turned right and started climbing.

The road was very steep; if they had snow here, the grade would be unacceptable. But that's a problem they don't have to deal with, so they don't seem to care much about the steepness of their roads.

Eventually I reached the San Josecito neighborhood where there was a side road that looped around and rejoin 177 where I'd turned onto it.

After taking a picture, I took the side road and headed back to home.

2. Coronado y Las Nubes: A Journey to the Clouds

We've been looking at sending me to Academia Tica, an español immersion school that's in the northeast edges of the greater San José area in a suburb named Coronado. Today I rode out that way to find the school and learn that area.

There are a few rivers that run through the San José valley, and they often pose routing challenges because there are limited crossings. Together with the many one way streets, it requires a circuitous route getting to Guadalupe, after which routing became easier but pumping harder as I climbed my way toward the mountains.

After several kilometers of steady climb on some stroads, I arrived at San Isidro, which is positioned at the foot of the mountains.

From there, the road became much steeper. I went up 216 as far as Las Nubes, a hamlet whose name literally translates "the clouds". I turned around when I saw the road starting to go down again.

There was also a bus stop there, providing transit to the locals, a way to get to one of the national parks and hiking areas on top of the mountains, and the hotels and restaurants supported by tourists coming to the national park. The bus only runs up the mountain once an hour, but the bus was due and a lot of people were waiting for it. I look forward to returning sometime to explore the natural areas.

There were many farms along the mountainous roads. This throws me: I'm used to the idea that mountains are bad for farming. Partly, this is a matter of soil: valleys tend to be more fertile, and making mountainous areas challenging for planting. But also, in colder climates, the altitude shortens the season and reduces the viability of farming. Here, that's not an issue (though the dry season probably provides some challenge).

In San Isidro, I spied a carniceria that had some fried chicken on display, so I stopped and got a few pieces for lunch. From there, I continued toward home, and though I had to pedal the continuous gentle downhill made it easy to keep up with traffic into the city.

Back in the city, I stopped at El Rey, a department store, to get a few things we needed.

Afterthought: Academia Tica

I haven't decided on which language school yet. Academia Tica sounds lovely and well-supported, but there's another school on the east side of San José that's much less of a schlep.

3. Visitamos a Tamarindo y Pacific Ocean

Saturday morning started with an ok sunrise at our apartment in La Sabana neighborhood in the city of San Jose, province San Jose. It's important all address details be included here, because a lot of names get reused in different provinces, San José included. This doesn't happen much (if at all) in the states; New York, for example, deduplicated names in the early 1800s, forcing the town of Rochester on Lake Champlain to rename itself to Bolton. Here, though, a lot of stuff is a free-for-all.

We travelled here by Transport Intelligente Guanacaste, which provides bus service from San Jose to Tamarindo for about $15 per person. The return trip is similarly priced. So, very affordable, and a lot of Ticas (Costa Ricans) use it.

Tamarindo, by the way, is a type of fruit. It looks a little like a pale green chili pepper, with the edges folded lengthwise to give it a star-shaped cross section. Like peppers, it has a very strong taste, but unlike peppers it is sour instead of spicy. Also, the fruit is solid instead of hollow. Sliced, their star shapes make a nice (if overpoweringly sour) garnish. Juiced, they make a nice drink also known as a Tamarindo that is reminiscent of lemonade mixed with apple cider. It's quite good.

Anyhow, after checking in we got some food, then went to the beach to watch the sunset. We had an hour, though, so I decided to go for a swim.

On the walk to the hotel to change, a lizard that crossed our path, stopping to pose for pictures. He then climbed up a bush and posed some more on the trunk.

After changing into our bathing suits, we returned to the beach and played in the waves for a while. It's been years since I've been in ocean water. The water was so lovely and warm, though, which is a big change from anywhere else I've been in the ocean.

We were treated to a beautiful lead-in to the sunset, athough ominous dark clouds overtook the skies in the north and gradually expanded in our direction. The clouds overtook the skies as the sun touched the horizon, so it got dark super quickly and the rain started up so we headed back.

Sunday morning we got surf lessons. Our instructor was a good teacher, and while neither of us got up on the surfboard we did ride some waves laying down—almost like sledding on the water. The waves were apparently unusually high, and we both had some good runs. However, trudging against the waves dragging the surfboard with us really wore us both out, so we spent the rest of the day relaxing and recuperating at the hotel's pool, and finished off with another amazing sunset.

Monday we played in the ocean a little more, and made plans for the rest of the week. And, of course, watched the beautiful sunset. There was supposed to be an aerial show after dinner, but it never materialized before we were ready to head home.

Tuesday we went on an excursion to another nearby beach, where we did some horseback riding. The beaches there were amazing, with the white sand and clear blue waters seen in tourism brochures.

While taking a break, a manta ray passed through the clear waters of the beach, though I didn't get a picture. And later in the day, we encountered several more critters at the hotel.

Wednesday we rented some surfboards and practiced for a while in the afternoon. I had a lot more trouble on this board; Opal thinks it was less wide than the prior one. We had fun, though, and afterwards spent the afternoon reading on the beach with occasional dips in the ocean.

Thursday we went snorkeling. We met some nice folks on the boat; it was nice to socialize in English for a while. The snorkeling was amazing but since neither of us have underwater cameras, there are no pictures. Not even of me puking off the side of the boat when I got sea sick from the rough water.

As we expected, it wiped us out and we had a low-key rest of the day, with some sushi for dinner.

Friday, I got a swim before packing up and getting ready to leave. We had lunch at Waffle Monkey, where Opal got a Waffle Monkey waffle and I got an apple pie waffle. There was a squirrel there that really wanted some waffle.

We had some time to waste before the bus arrived, so Opal talked me into getting a massage to pass some time. We caught the bus at 3PM, but traffic was a little heavy so we made it back to San José a little late at about 10.

As we drove through Guanacaste province, I was reminded of New England in summer. The trees are the wrong types, the building construction style is completely different, there isn't billion-year-old granite strewn around and the signs are in español... but the hills, the fields, the agriculture, the simple houses yield a feeling of familiarity.

Reflecting

Each evening has featured an amazing sunset, and the food here has all been good.

Spending time here has been helpful in breaking the isolation we've had in San José. We've had some longer conversations with tour guides, some friendly locals and with some US citizens that we've encountered. I think it's been good for us.

Returning to San José, it felt nice to be home. Walking the now-familiar streets again... it's not the same as returning to Rochester, a place where my roots were deep and returning home after a month away on a bike trip it felt so good to be again in a place I felt was mine. It's not that deep yet here, but... it's starting. It doesn't feel completely foreign here anymore.

While we were down there, we watched the madness in the US: sending the national guard into Chicago, and Trump declaring Trans folk have to be stripped of firearms. Under the Nazi regime in Germany, the excuse was a Polish Jew assassinating a politician. In the ensuing madness, Jewish businesses, cemeteries, and homes were ravaged during Kristallnacht. 30,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps. Hitler had spent years fomenting German hatred of the Jews. And finally, he got what he needed: a Jew did something wrong. And he whipped it into a frenzy with thousands dying. Millions, eventually.

The Republican party has long been playing that game with immigrants and other groups. It's been distilled by the Alt Right and the performance perfected by Trump, telling paranoid Christians and other gullible, angry people—some of whom fucked up their own lives, others whom are just victims capitalism and want somebody to blame, but don't want to do the work to figure out who is responsible so accept the proffered scapegoats—that it's all the immigrants and the Trannies.

And now, every misstep any immigrant or Transperson makes is held up as justification for their agenda. It's just a matter of time before somebody trips up and gives the excuse they need to execute their agenda. And if he can't do it legally, he'll find a way to dog whistle to his base to go do it, and he'll make sure there's no consequences. I am so glad to be out of that fucking place, that powder keg, but I fear for my friends who are stuck there and can't get out.

I will not be surprised if the country is at war with itself before the end of the month. Actually, I will be surprised if it's not at war with itself by end of year.

It was good to get away. We had some good meals. I realize how privileged Opal and I are to be able to leave and find safety. But it feels very weird going through the usual motions, as if we're one of the Titanic's musicians, playing a fun tune as the inevitable happens because there's nothing we can do to stop it.